News and Analysis
5 Next-Gen RFID Solutions for Omnichannel Retailers
Radio-frequency identification, or RFID, has found new life in the post-pandemic retail space. By attaching small strips of metal that can transmit radio waves with information about any product, retailers are finding that they can accelerate and automate the store checkout process. Unlike barcodes, which must be scanned individually, RFID tags can be scanned together and they hold significantly more information.
Marketers Struggle to Balance Personalization and Privacy
While consumers are increasingly coming to expect personalization in their inboxes, too much personalization can damage trust and steer customers away. Nobody wants to feel like they’re being watched, but recent surveys show consumers are also growing increasingly frustrated with marketing materials that aren’t targeted enough.
Oomiji Helps Brands “Build Their Own Walled Gardens” of Customer Data
Zero-party data, or information customers willingly provide about themselves, is gaining popularity as a way of amassing customer data at a time when privacy restrictions are making that more difficult. The platform Oomiji is betting on that trend, differentiating itself from other CDPs by helping its clients ask their customers for data (instead of relying on AI to extrapolate limited data to probabilistic segments and preferences).
Commentary
LBMA Vidcast: Google Launches Location Groups, Bumble Explores Physical Space
On this week’s Location-Based Marketing Association podcast: PatientPoint’s proximity in healthcare, Boen Wines using NFC with Guala Closures, Bumble gets into physical space, Puma geotargets on Firefly’s DOOH, Google launches “seasonality” and “location groups”, Groupon acquires Presence AI for voice & text.
Fake Reviews Are Silicon Valley’s Next Fake News Problem
Local businesses are struggling to adapt to a world where online reputation drives offline sales, and fake reviews are making the transition harder. What’s more, the fake review problem is getting worse. A Harvard study found that fake reviews on Yelp grew from 5% to 20% over several years.
There are lots of reasons for this trend, but this is an area where big data can be used to the benefit of consumers and businesses to increase trust. This means it’s on the tech community—not small businesses—to fix fake reviews. Just as media platforms have a moral obligation to avoid the spread of fake news, review sites have a responsibility to their users and businesses to ensure their content is as accurate as possible.
What Retail Has Learned About AR Since Pokémon Go
Retailers are only beginning to realize the potential of AR. As a new generation of shoppers steeped in AR grows up, their expectations will exceed the novelty acts the industry has put out to date. AR features won’t just be a one-off promo or tied to a game release; they will become the basis of the in-store customer experience, one that looks nothing like the retail of today.
Latest Posts
The Biggest Roadblocks to Building a Top Loyalty Program
To build a successful loyalty program, make sure that customers can see what points and rewards they’ve earned without making them jump through hoops. Make your system as transparent and frictionless as possible, and try to communicate via each member’s preferred channel.
LBMA Podcast: Google’s Just A Line, Walmart & Handy, Snapchat
Also on the show this week: Drive Time Metrics, VisuWall, the Church of England, Macy’s, Home Depot + Pinterest, Philips Lighting.
As Amazon Preps Attribution Tool, Media Buyers Demand Greater ROI
Amazon’s massive consumer audience and billions of touch points, coupled with its newly acquired brick-and-mortar presence, means the company’s ad services could be in a position to explode if it does a good enough job illustrating the influence its ad services have on driving online-to-offline or strictly online sales.
Street Fight Daily: Media Buyers Weigh in on Facebook’s Data Changes, A New Era for Uber?
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Agencies: Facebook’s Removal of Third-Party Data Turns Back the Clock on Targeting… A Deep Dive on the Challenges Facing New Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi… Paid Search, Shopping Campaign Media Buys Continue to Rise…
What NinthDecimal’s Growth Means for the Hyperlocal Marketing Industry
In an announcement that could be indicative of larger trends in the location-data space, the omnichannel marketing platform NinthDecimal recently announced its third consecutive year of more than 100% annual revenue growth.
Street Culture: Thumbtack Employees Driving Culture from the Bottom Up
Justin Angsuwat, Thumbtack’s vice president of people, says the Thumbtack team describes its company culture as the “Midwest of cultures.”
Street Fight Daily: Microsoft Makes a Big Move, Snap Slashes Ad Team Numbers
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Microsoft Is Ready for a World Beyond Windows… Snap Cuts About 100 Employees on the Advertising Side of the Biz… How Facebook’s Shutdown of Third-Party Data Affects Advertisers…
4Cite’s Email Platform Helps Digital Brands Secure the Path to Purchase
“Across the board with all of our retail clients, the most successful marketing campaign they have is their abandoned shopping cart email campaigns,” 4Cite CEO Bob Gaito said, referring to emails sent to remind customers that they have items left in their shopping carts.
‘Ads.txt’: How a Little Bit of Code Is Putting a Big Dent in Ad Fraud
The ad fraud crisis finally is beginning to be addressed at least partly through an initiative from the Interactive Advertising Bureau bearing the nerdy name “ads.txt.”
Street Fight Daily: Google Puts Mobile First, Facebook Cuts Out Third-Party Data Brokers
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Search Takes Another Big Step Toward a Mobile-First World… Facebook Is Cutting Third-Party Data Providers Out of Ad Targeting… Amazon Directly Hires Housekeepers to Conquer Local Services…
Street Fight’s Big 3
Street Fight Columns
Street Fight Categories
Why AI Describes Locations Differently